New and Old
by Kerhys
Summary: Several months following the restoration of Radiant Garden, the residents are finding that adjusting to life as it was isn't what they expected. New relationships form, and old relationships persevere. CloudxTifa, LeonxAerith.
1. Chapter One

_**Disclaimer**: Do I really have to say this? Alright, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, you would know. If I did there would be a lot more singing and shirtlessness, and a lot less Vexen._

Hmmkay, so this is my second fanfic **EVAR**. Once again based around Kingdom Hearts D This one is Post-KH2, set in Radiant Garden. It revolves around some of my favourite characters - Cloud, Tifa, Leon, Yuffie and Aerith _(In that order XD) _I started writing this 'cause I always wondered what life was like for the gang after Sora went back home after defeating Xemnas. And also 'cause I love these characters XD.

Oh, and if you don't like the pairings featured in this; CloudxTifa, LeonxAerith, LeonxYuffie and maybe the tiniest smidgen of CloudxAerith, and perhaps a reference to ZackxAerith (Yes, I _know_ Zack isn't in Kingdom Hearts. This fanfic is probably gonna make lotsa references to FFVII, but Zack is still dead.) Yeah, so if you don't like these pairings, PLEASE don't go flaming me about it. You don't like it, _don't bloody read it_. Capiche?

Sephiroth will also make an appearence in this fanfic (_being the baddy he is_), along with the Gullwings, and possibly Sora, Kairi and Riku.

**_ANYWHO!_** On with the story!

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"Whatever, Cloud, just come back in one piece! And don't accidentally 'forget' to come back again like last time! Oh, ohh! Make sure no one takes the orichalcum, or you're so gonna get it - ! …jerk hung up on me…" Yuffie frowned at her phone as the endless beep rang through her ears, but her short attention span got the better of her as she was soon distracted by the two girls walking through the gate of the Bailey.

"Yuffie, were you talking to Cloud? What did he say?" Inquired Tifa, sliding her leather gloves off her hands and placing them in the pouch of her skirt.

Yuffie merely shrugged in response. "Beats me, for all I care he could be in Destiny Islands doing the Macarena, just as long as he brings his spikey ass back here with my - I mean, _our_ orichalcum…" Tifa and Aerith mimicked each other's eye roll as Yuffie failed to cover up her lack of concern for their friend.

"I'm sure Cloud'll be back soon, anyway, we'd better be getting back, dinner's ready" Aerith replied, nodding at Tifa who followed her out of the Bailey.

"Hey!! Wait up!!" Yuffie ran after them, bouncing around them both. "Isn't Leon cooking tonight..? …Can we eat out? Please? Pretty please? We could get some reasonably priced BBQ ribs from the Marketplace! Hey! Are you two listening to me?!"

- -

"Bleugh, Leon, this tastes like - "

"So! What did you do in Ansem's Study today, Leon?" Aerith quickly interrupted Yuffie before she was about to get a gunblade lodged in her head.

"I would've gotten something done if Cid The Genius hadn't turned off the power off…" Leon grunted as he stabbed his fork into the badly burned steak.

"Speaking of which, where is Cid? Last time I saw he was smoking a cigarette outside the Postern…" Inquired Tifa, standing up from her seat as she collected everyone's plates and placed them in the sink for Cid to clean later.

"He said he was going to fix the power system since it's been acting up recently…but I guess he screwed up again 'cause the whole computer just went dead and - " Leon's rant was unfortunately cut short by the familiar footsteps that entered the room, occupying everyone's attention.

"I'm back."

It's interesting how each individual expressed their relief to see him. Leon merely nodded slightly, and Cloud nodded in return.

Aerith ran up and hugged him tightly, leaving Cloud quite bewildered as Aerith has a remarkably strong grip for a girl.

Tifa smiled sweetly at him, not wanting to cause such a fuss on his arrival, but the two of them both knew how happy she was to have him back.

And Yuffie - well, what do you expect? Yuffie bounded up to him, inspecting all his pockets (and probably overstepping her boundaries) for any traces of treasure, not enquiring at all about his health or well being until she was shot a fiery glance by Tifa.

"Oh Cloud! It's _so_ good to have you back! You didn't…um…by any chance happen to stumble upon….a certain orichalcum? And maybe it accidentally fell into one of those manly pockets of yours…?" Yuffie grinned widely at him, but Tifa, Aerith and Leon all smacked their foreheads at the ninja's pathetic attempt at trying to charm Cloud into giving her the treasure.

"Yeah…I got it." He replied, stepping outside, immediately followed by Yuffie.

"Well, where is it? C'mon, show it me!" Fortunately, Cloud had manage to master ignoring Yuffie's persistency after several years of her never shutting up.

"Helloooo? Clooud? Are you in there?" Yuffie hopped around him, waving an arm in front if his face as he headed over garage subtly located behind the Bailey, Cloud barely even blinking with Yuffie's hand practically smacking his face.

With Yuffie following behind him, he stepped over beside his motorbike, Fenrir, opening a compartment at the rear and pulling out a large metal box.

Yuffie smiled with glee.

"Here, just take the damn stuff. It's pretty heavy for a tiny piece of rock, y'know, you sure you can handle it?" He smirked slightly as Yuffie attempted what she believed to be a 'death-defying glare', snatching the box from his hand, losing her balance slightly but still glaring at him to try to prove her point, even though her arms were practically dropping off from the weight.

"Don't worry yourself, Spike" she glared, sticking her tongue out at him and bounding back to their house as Cloud rolled his eyes at the nickname he had grown to detest.

- - -

"Yuffie, don't get attached now….you know we have to give it to Sora" Tifa tried to reason with Yuffie, who was cradling the box of orichalcum as if it were precious.

"But whyyyy?! He doesn't need it! He'll just lose it!" she whined, clutching the box tighter.

"Yuffie.." came a stern voice from the other side of the table as Leon was shuffling a pack of cards.

"You're no fun, Squall!" Yuffie moaned, turning back to nurse her box.

Leon merely rolled his eyes in response, dealing out the deck between him, Cloud and Tifa.

"Who wants milk in their soda?" Aerith called from the kitchen, and the others almost gagged at her ridiculous culinary mixtures.

"No one, Aerith! For the last time - it does not taste good!!" Leon yelled back, obviously sick of having sugar put in his Barley tea or other ridiculous drinks that she had prepared.

"Don't be silly, Leon!" she smiled as she walked back in with a tray of disgusting looking liquids. "It's good for you!"

"Um, let's just carry on with the game, shall we?" Tifa quickly interrupted before Leon had another 'episode' again.

"Good idea, what are we playing again?" Cloud enquired, showing off by doing his fancy card shuffling, which never failed to impress Tifa or Aerith.

"How 'bout Rummy?" suggested Tifa, glancing round at the others and turning round to see Yuffie. "Yuffie, you wanna play?"

"Hell no! She'll cheat again!"

"It's just a game, Leon…" Tifa responded, remembering how competitive he could get, and the unfortunate 'Pictionary' incident...

"I don't wanna play anyway…I'm gonna go out for a bit" replied Yuffie, picking up the box and heading out the door.

"Ah ah aaah! Aren't you forgetting something, Yuffie?" Aerith raised an eyebrow as Yuffie tried to act innocently like she didn't know what she was talking about.

"Oh, _this_?" She grinned. "I was…just taking it outside…for fresh air…" even Yuffie seemed slightly unconvinced at her own remark.

"Put the box down, Yuffie" Cloud ordered, not looking up from his deck of cards. Yuffie reluctantly obeyed.

"Now step away slowly…" and she did, glaring at him.

"…and get me a sandwich." The others laughed slightly as Yuffie's feet

_almost _moved in the direction of the kitchen.

"Hey!! Spikey headed jerk!" She growled as Cloud smirked proudly, turning his view back towards his deck. "So are we playing or what?"

"Aerith? You playing?" Tifa asked after Aerith who was busy in the kitchen preparing post-dinner snacks. Even though she had awful taste in drinks, at least her flapjacks were nice. Anything was better than Leon's cooking.

"Maybe later, you guys might just want to have a quick round - it's getting pretty late" She replied, walking in with the tray of golden brown flapjacks.

"Mine!" Laughed Yuffie as she snatched a chunk out of the tray and bounded back off to her corner, to play Tetris on Cloud's phone. God knows why he had that there. She didn't even dare to check out his pictures.

"Hm, I think I'm gonna hit the sack" Leon said coolly, standing up from his seat and discarding his deck onto the table. "I'll see you guys in the morning." He waved slightly and headed upstairs to his room, his heavy boots making the same creaky thud that they were all fairly used to by now.

"Aww, you're so boring, Scarface! It's only 11!" Yuffie poked her tongue out at Leon who just continued up to his room.

"You should probably go to sleep too Yuffie, otherwise Cloud'll have to wake you up like last time" Tifa laughed as she recalled Cloud chucking several buckets of ice cold water over the ninja in one of many attempts to wake her up.

Yuffie scowled in response, stomping off upstairs to retire to her own room - taking the orichalcum of course.

Tifa and Aerith rolled their eyes in unison and continued to clear up the plates and glasses.

"Cloud, did you remember to lock the gate to the Postern?" Tifa enquired, wiping her hands down with a dishcloth and returning over to the table to face the blond she was talking to.

"Shit…" Cloud murmured, running a hand through his hair. It seemed he had developed a knack for forgetting things lately.

"It's okay, we can go and lock it now." She replied nonchalantly, nodding at Aerith as she walked towards the door. "Will you be ok here for a bit?"

"It's okay, Tifa, you don't have to worry about me all the time" Aerith smiled and laughed in reply, waving them out as Cloud and Tifa headed out towards the Bailey.

"Are you okay, Cloud? You seem to be forgetting things a lot lately…" Tifa said in a concerned tone as her and Cloud walked along the dark streets of Hollow Bastion.

"Yeah…I'm fine…I guess I must just be getting old or something" Cloud smiled in an attempt to steer Tifa clear of the subject. Thankfully, for him, she laughed.

"I'm not sure that people start losing their memory at 24, but, if you insist…" She smiled, hiding the fact that deep down she was upset and offended that Cloud would keep something like this away from her. They had been childhood friends after all.

"Tifa…I know you're concerned…but I'm fine, really." Cloud broke the awkward silence that had been sitting between them for quite some time.

"I believe you…"

He suddenly stopped in his tracks right in front of her, denying her any further passage. His stance even somewhat intimidated her, but she knew him well enough that right now he was about to say something serious.

"Tifa….I promise you….if I knew what was going on I'd tell you in a heartbeat…but…I just don't know…"

There was a pause between the two before Tifa broke into one of those warm smiles that was her way of cheering him up. Cloud blinked before eventually smiling back at her, but the guilt still lingered in his mind that he was still lying to her.

**-------------------------------------------**

So thar you go! I hope you enjoyed it

The next chapter will most likely be more revolved around Leon, as Cloud and Leon are gonna be the principle characters, and I'll alternate between them. Ta ta for now!

_**Reviews make me happeee **_


	2. Chapter Two: Leon

**Okay, so I know it's been a long, LONG time since I uploaded this fic, but I had the second chapter in progress on my laptop and then..well...my laptop got wiped, so I never recovered the second chapter, and I guess I never wanted to finish it until now. I vaguely remember what I'd written, so here you go.**

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It seemed as though Leon had been tossing and turning in his bed for endless hours, but as he glanced at the dark hands ticking of the dimly lit clock at his bedside, he discovered it had only been three hours since he had retired to bed. He had left much earlier than the others, who may have still been downstairs playing cards for all he knew.

He hated these nights. These nights where all he could do was groan and shift restlessly in his bed, eyes shut as far as they could go, but he couldn't force himself to sleep. They often resulted in mistakes during the day; accidently using Cloud's toothbrush, forgetting to shut down the computer in Ansem's study, or even destroying half the basement while sparring. Often he'd consider taking something to help him sleep, but he convinced himself that these nights didn't happen often enough to actually use that solution, and also he didn't want the others to think he was some kind of pill-popper or insomniac. Although he rarely showed it, he did care highly what his friends thought of him.

A low groan escaped his lips as he once again turned over in his bed, pushing the burgundy sheets away to release some of the trapped heat that was beginning to cause him to sweat. He ran a hand through his hair before settling back down into his pillows. However, a split second later his silence was interrupted by a creaking on the landing. He immediately tensed up, instinctively grabbing the handle of his gunblade, which rested loyally by his bedside. His instinctive reaction caused him to sigh silently and roll eyes at himself as he realised it was probably one of the others heading up to bed. He waited for the light on the landing which seeped in from under his door to pass, along with the footsteps creaking along the wood flooring.

However, unlike he expected, the hall light never turned off, and the footsteps seemed to halt outside his bedroom door.

The grip on his blade, which he hadn't released, tightened, as he squinted his eyes towards his bedroom door, listening intently to the silent presence.

A few moments passed before the latch on the door clicked, Leon's eyes adjusted as the strip of light from the hall spilled in through the opening of the door, revealing a silhouetted figure that caused him to loosen the grip on his gunblade.

"Aerith..." he mumbled in a hoarse voice, letting the gunblade slip back into it's position by his beside, rubbing his forehead and looking at her through squinted eyes. "Is something wrong?"

His vision of her focused as she took a step towards him, inviting herself into his room. "I just came to wish you goodnight; I knew you'd still be awake." Her hushed voice flowed through the room and soothed his tense body, causing him to inadvertently relax.

"Thanks..." he replied, "but you should really get to bed, it's pretty late."

And then she did something that caused him to replay that moment in his head, just to make convince himself that it wasn't a figment of his imagination. The sound of the latch on the door clicking and the disappearance of the light from the hallway confirmed to him that Aerith had shut the door behind her.

"Aerith...?" He mumbled in a confused tone, his eyes barely making out the silhouette of her dusky pink dressing gown wrapped loosely around her frame.

"What's wrong Leon...? I told you I came to wish you goodnight..." her hands released the door handle before she stepped towards him, the long, loose curls of her hair bouncing behind her as she gracefully slid down to perch on the edge of Leon's bed.

"..." Leon tried to form any words to address the situation, but all that came out of his lips was confused mumble, causing a smile to form on Aerith's dimly lit face. He felt himself pushing his body upwards in the bed to sit up, his eyes gradually accustoming to the light and focusing on the pale arm travelling towards him. "Aerith...I – "

His speech was suddenly interrupted by a soft, cool finger pressing itself lightly against his lips, causing Leon's eyes to widen in further bewilderment. His confusion only grew as the gentle fingertip slid over his bottom lip, Aerith's eyes lowering towards the movements that stopped Leon dead in his tracks.

Before Leon could move a muscle those gentle fingers that had hushed him were carefully tracing along his neck, guided by the movements of her eyes, until she glanced up at him. It was a look he had never seen before, it was so unlike Aerith, yet it suited her perfectly. The sultry gaze pierced right through him, and the subtle parting of her lips indicated to him something that he had never expected, but could hardly resist once the opportunity presented itself. But before he was even able to move an inch towards her, her slender fingers cupped his chin, and she planted a soft kiss on his stunned lips.

Aerith parted her lips teasingly before pulling herself away; her eyes fixed on his, as her hands glided over her shoulders and gently pushed the hem of her dressing gown, causing it to fall in a light heap on the bed. Leon's attention was suddenly drawn to the now clear outline of her slender figure, her ivory skin illuminated by the moonlight. His gaze traced down to her perfectly accented chest, now bare before him. He was at a loss for words. He felt his whole body heating up, he was sure that his hot skin would burn her if they touched.

Despite this, his arm reached forward to capture her neck, and was greeted by the cold porcelain which soothed his body, pulling her beside him feel the soft, plump –

**Daylight.**

It seeped through his eyelids, that orange glow forcing his eyes to flutter open. It took a few moments for Leon's eyes to register that it was in fact now early morning, the blends of red, pink and yellow flooding his room.

**Morning.**

He was definitely sure that the previous events had occurred in the deep night, but suddenly it was morning.

_Is this a dream?_ He thought to himself. Although he was almost certain that he wouldn't fall asleep with a half naked Aerith looming over him. Definitely not, unless he had in fact taken something to help him sleep. However, he was quite certain he didn't do that either.

Leon tried to arrive at various conclusions which ensured that the events with Aerith hadn't been a figment of his imagination. Unfortunately, even he couldn't convince himself.

"A dream..." He groaned and rubbed his temple, pushing away the covers and swinging his legs over the side of the bed before he stared out of the window. Judging by the state of the sky, it was around 8am. He gradually stood up and leaned against the windowsill, his eyes in taking the view of the Hollow Bastion market beginning it's daily routine; stalls opening; people hovering around; however, his mind was elsewhere. He rarely dreamt, and his occasional lengthy sleeps were usually occupied by dreams filled with random events of no sense, nothing like what he experienced the night before. Everything seemed so distinct to him, every sight; every smell; every touch; every taste...

He rubbed his forehead once more before banishing the thought from his mind, deciding to forget about the whole thing. After all, it was only a dream, and dreams mean nothing. Dreams are only a recreation of certain mundane events thorough the day. Although this thought did cause Leon to question whether anything during the day would have provoked this dream. He'd never viewed Aerith in a sexual way, and she never intentionally presented herself in a sexual way to anyone, so what could have brought this on?

And he was thinking about it again, but thankfully a knock on his door interrupted his thought process.

"Leon, you awake? Breakfast is ready!" For a split second he thought it was the voice that had invaded his subconscious, causing him to tense, until he recognised the deeper undertones of Tifa's voice.

"Yeah...I'll be down in a minute." He released his captive breath, before composing himself as he walked towards the bathroom. His mind was clearly elsewhere as he barely noticed the surprised Yuffie brushing her teeth in the mirror as Leon ran the taps, splashing cold water over his face.

"Hello – Leon? I'm brushing here!" She raised her eyebrows and scrunched up her face in a confused expression, raising her toothbrush in protest as Leon continued to wash his face without even acknowledging her presence.

After leaving a bewildered and irritated Yuffie in the bathroom, Leon headed downstairs, greeted by the inviting smell of toasted bread, sizzling bacon and roasted coffee.

As he stepped into the open kitchen, he noticed that everything was how it usually is. Cloud was sat at the table, his hand cupping his coffee mug as he read the newspaper, Tifa was just sitting down beside him; tying her hair into a loose ponytail in preparation for her morning run; and of course, Aerith was serving breakfast.

Although Aerith was all but useless in the kitchen, the one meal which she prided herself on was her early morning fry-ups, which kept everyone going throughout their busy mornings. Rashers of bacon, eggs: boiled; scrambled; or fried (Leon's personal preference was boiled), sausages, beans, everything anyone could possibly want from a fry up. And of course, for those in a rush, was toast, cereal or porridge. Leon suddenly found himself staring in slight wonder as Aerith busied herself amongst the pots and pans, and was amazed at her ability to cater for everyone's needs in the morning. He then found himself thinking how strange it was to think how something that seemed so mundane to them all was suddenly impressing him.

He almost leaped out of his skin when he heard the voice that had been plaguing him all morning, address him.

"Leon, 2 boiled eggs, a slice of toast and some bacon as usual?" Aerith half turned her body towards him, smiling sweetly as she recalled his usual breakfast order.

"No." He replied suddenly, slightly shocked at his own response and averting her gaze, he lowered his voice, trying to compensate for his rude behaviour. "I'm going out early to the study, Cid and I have things to do. I'll grab something on the way there."

Aerith blinked. "Oh are you sure? I can wrap you up some toast if you want..." But before Aerith could finish her sentence, the door had already slammed shut and Leon was out of sight, leaving everyone in the room gazing at his odd behaviour.

"What's wrong with Leon?" Tifa questioned, tying the laces of her trainers, as she glanced over at Cloud and then to Aerith.

Aerith frowned at glanced at the food she had prepared before turning her gaze back to the spot where Leon had disappeared, and couldn't help wonder if it was something she did.

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**Thank you for taking your time to read this, and I'm sorry it's taken me over 2 years (Jeez, really been that long?) to update. _Please review if you'd like to give your thoughts or any criticism :) _**


	3. Chapter Three: Tifa

**Here's chapter three :) I wanted to make it longer than this, but I just wanted to upload it rather than drag it on. Plus, I couldn't think of anyother way to end it. Enjoy!**

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The rhythmic pounding of trainers racing fast on the concrete would be enough to send anyone back to their childhood. Running so fast you think that at any moment, wings will burst and spread from your back, sweeping you into to the air and sending you somewhere far away and exciting.

It was like that for Tifa. She had to grow up so fast; she clung dearly onto any trigger that sent her back to her childhood. That's why she enjoyed her morning jogs so much, it reminded her of being a child again. The cool breeze refreshing her face and flushing her cheeks with a pink tint, her hair flying from her face and disappearing behind her, and sometimes it reminded her of playing tag or hide-and-seek with certain childhood friends.

Tifa stopped for a moment to catch her breath, placing her hands on her hips as her chest heaved up and down, inhaling and exhaling deep breaths. She glanced around at the Radiant Garden morning, her view from Bailey overlooking the old Castle, which was now undergoing restoration following the heartless invasion several months previously.

Hers, and everyone else's memories of the town had been returned, after Radiant Garden's name and history had been erased and replaced by Hollow Bastion. She recognised the settings clearer, not perfectly, but the view from the Bailey especially was vivid in her memory. She had spent so many afternoons there as a child, she could hardly believe that she was able to forget the sunset sky that cast a golden glow on the Rising Falls and glorious castle in the distance.

Every morning since Radiant Garden was restored, Tifa would detour to this exact spot by the Bailey on her morning jogs, and a small piece of her childhood would come back to her. By now, she had pieced together every meal spent with her family, every sunny afternoon spent with her friends, every grazed knee and every ice cream.

The thought of ice cream had escaped her mind for a while, and she seemed surprised at herself that it had been so long that she had indulged herself in the salty-sweet taste, another trigger that took her back to her childhood. Tifa smiled to herself, regaining her posture and heading towards the Market Place with resolute determination to fetch ice cream for herself and the others. She smiled to herself once more at the surprise she had in store for her friends. And while she walked, she reminisced about the first time she tasted Sea-Salt ice cream.

_"Papa..." a tiny hand clenched at the dark denim trousers of the tall man stood in the Market Place. _

_"What is it, Teef?" the soft, deep voice replied, as the man turned his gaze down towards his daughter._

_"Papa...what flavour ice cream is your favourite?" Bright maroon eyes gazed up at him, offering her father another one of her questions, usually provoked without a second thought from the little girl's trail of thought. _

_ Her father chuckled in response, sweeping his arms down to gently swing the little girl up and into his arms. _

_"Well Teef, I would have to say...Sea-Salt!"_

_ A light 'bleugh!' sound came from the girl in his arms, which caused her father to chuckle once again in response. _

_"What's wrong with that?"_

_"Who would want salt in their ice cream!" The little girl poked her tongue out at the thought._

_"Well, you shouldn't dismiss it until you try it, you never know, it may be your favourite too." Her father placed her back on the ground, still holding onto her hand as they walked over to Scrooge McDuck's Ice Cream parlour. _

_ After two Sea-Salt ice creams had been paid for, the little girl and her father sat down on a bench overlooking houses surrounding the market place. _

_"How is it, Teef?" The father smiled down at his daughter, who had just taken her first lick of the ice cream._

_"Papa...it's delicious!" The little girl giggled and continued to lap at her salty-sweet treat, swinging her legs over the bench as she sat with her father and watched the crowds saunter past them. Everything in that moment was so serene; the little girl almost didn't notice the small blond boy lingering around the ice-cream parlour with wet eyes. _

_ The more the little girl stared at him, the more her serenity was interrupted. This little boy was much smaller than her, with spiky blond hair with a small low ponytail at the back of his head. He was biting his lip as he sniffed, and the little girl noticed that he was grasping dearly at the popsicle stick in his hand, and staring down at a small blue puddle by his feet. _

_ The little girl's father called after his daughter as she hopped down from the bench to approach the small boy, who upon noticing her presence widened his eyes and pulled an expression which resembled a deer caught in head lights. _

_ The little girl merely smiled at him, and thrust her hand in front of him. The small boy gazed in awe at the perfect sea-salt ice cream offered before him, before turning his head back up to stare at the warm maroon eyes that were lighting gazing down at his. _

_ The little girl silently nodded, nudging the ice cream closer towards him. The small boy's jaw dropped as he reached a shaking hand to clutch the stick of the ice cream. His eyes started to wet once more as he averted the gaze from charming face of the little girl, who smiled and nodded at him once more, before turning and skipping off towards her father, leaving the small boy awestruck and holding an ice cream that was slowly melting in his hands. _

_ "That was a very nice thing you did, Teef." Her father said, taking her hand as they began walking back towards the Borough. _

_ "Well, he looked so sad, Papa...and everyone else looked so happy; I thought I should make him happy, too!" The little girl beamed at her father and he smiled back, before swinging her onto his shoulders as they headed off home. _

"Leon!" Tifa rapped her free hand against the door of Ansem's study, and decided to invite herself in after she heard no response.

"Leon...? I brought something for you!" She hoped, as she peered round the door, that he had calmed down after his 'episode' that same morning. As she glanced around the empty room, she questioned how she knew he would be there, but quickly reassured herself that Leon had definitely told them he was going to work with Cid in the study as he was storming out.

Tifa frowned as he eyes darted about every corner of the barren study, unsure for a moment about what it meant. Had Leon lied to them? No, he wouldn't do that. He may not be the type to say much, but he certainly wasn't dishonest. She assured herself that he must have taken a break, or maybe gone home. And with that thought, she headed home herself, reminding herself of the smiles that would greet her as she presented her friends with their Sea-Salt ice creams.

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**Well, thanks for reading. This was obviously Tifa's chapter =P Once again, I apologise for it being so short. I swear some more juicy bits are coming up! The last chapter was juicy enough that I wanted to introduce a bit of history to Tifa and Cloud's relationship. Thanks again for reading, and please let me know what you think. ^_^**


	4. Chapter Four: Aerith

**_Don't own Kingdom Hearts blah blah etc. Enjoy chapter four! ^^_**

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"Tifa, this was so thoughtful of you!" Aerith sighed happily as Tifa handed her the Sea-Salt ice cream, blessing her friend with a smile of gratitude before indulging herself in the frozen treat in her hands.

Tifa smiled. "Not at all, I figured it'd be a nice way to start today's restoration work – speaking of which, I didn't see Leon in the study, has he come back here?" She suddenly became aware that the ice creams were now melting slightly, as she felt cold, sticky droplets slide onto her hands.

"I haven't seen him since he left this morning, he seemed pretty...frustrated," frowning at the thought of her friend, who normally possessed a calm disposition being in a bad mood, Aerith resigned herself to the notion that she would investigate Leon's odd behaviour.

"Ha, I bet it's just because he's not getting any!" Yuffie laughed as she swung on her chair, oblivious to the shocked expression mirrored on the faces of Tifa and Aerith.

"Uh, Yuffie, don't you think that's kind of rude? Leon's personal life is none of our business..." remarked Tifa, blushing slightly.

"Why do I care about Scarface's personal life? I'm saying that he's probably pissed because he's not getting any _treasure_ for himself!" Yuffie chirped as she bounded out of the house.

Tifa and Aerith exchanged looks of relief. Neither of them were particularly keen on discussing sexual matters with Yuffie, who possessed all the subtlety and sophistication of a Fat Bandit.

Hastily changing the subject, Aerith headed towards the door, sliding her slender feet into her brown suede boots. "I'm going to the Moogle Workshop, you two behave while I'm gone!" Aerith chuckled slightly as her last remark caused a faint blush to appear across Tifa's cheeks, as she understood that Aerith was clearly referring leaving Cloud and Tifa in the house alone.

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After thanking the Moogles for synthesising her items, Aerith turned away from the marketplace, mentally crossing off the 'Fencer Earring' from her list of accessories. Synthesis was a particular hobby of hers, as well white magic, and she often sold her creations to residents of Radiant Garden, along with the flowers that now blossomed since the town was restored to its former glory. She had planned to do so as well with her newest handiwork. However, as she gazed as the silver earring, a serpentine dragon atop a gem surrounded by spikes, she couldn't help but imagine how much it would it would have suited_ him_.

It had been a long time since Aerith had allowed herself to think of it, she'd long since banished it from her mind. But reflected in the cyan gem of the earring, glistening in the sun were the eyes of a boy she once knew.

She remembered it vividly, despite the many years having past in which she neglected the thought. She was barely 16 when they met, but very cautious and my no means naive. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, and despite the fact that they spent months together, to Aerith it felt like no sooner had he arrived that he seemed to vanish from her life without a trace. Looking back she felt like something of a fool to have let herself had feelings for this boy, who, she thought, must have only viewed her as a passing fling. She never knew why he stopped replying to her letters, but eventually she learned to shrug it off, assuring herself that he probably moved on, she was only a young girl after all. She wasn't quite sure why she felt so indifferently about the whole matter, but then again, they say you forgive your first love of anything.

Her train of thought had kept her so very occupied that she almost didn't notice the house she was stood outside. She folded the earring back into it's silk wrapping and into her basket, peering up at the tipsy chimney balancing atop Merlin's cottage. Her initial thought was to stop by and have a chat, but as she placed her palm on the large wooden door, the sound of a deep voice caused her to hold her breath and freeze where she was stood.

Aerith certainly wasn't the type to eavesdrop, and upon hearing the rough undertones of Leon's voice she wasn't quite sure why she didn't just invite herself in and make sure that he was alright after the disappearing act of the morning. Except, something in her head seemed to tell her that the conversation between Leon, and what seemed to be Cid (judging from his sharp accent) shouldn't be interrupted.

"_...don't know what to do..." _

She was breathing heavily but was still able to make out the hushed voices through the wooden door, and felt her heart beat faster as she felt her position becoming awfully precarious.

"_...Aerith...can't be around her..."_

Her brow furrowed in puzzlement at the words she had just heard. The voice unmistakably belonged to Leon, but for minutes she neglected the conversation being held behind the door to gather her thoughts. Did Leon hate her? Was this why he's been acting so strange? Because he can't stand to be around her? In her mind she tried to piece together every conversation, every moment spent with Leon to analyse his reactions to try to make sense of this, and because no other explanation made sense, she convinced herself that Leon's often seemingly indifferent demeanour was a reflection of his dislike of her.

Of course, with this sudden realisation, she couldn't help but be upset. She bit her lip, she knew that she certainly wasn't perfect and that there must be people who weren't particularly fond of her – but she never expected it from someone whom she'd regarded as a close friend for so many years. She and Leon, along with Yuffie, had been through a lot together; their childhoods; the destruction of their world; the process of rebuilding it; and she never would have dreamed that someone whom she placed so much confidence and trust in would be secretly harbouring feelings of loathing – or ever hatred towards her. It was too much to take in all at once, so she quickly fled from the house without even so much a moment's thought.

She wasn't sure where she was going, but she couldn't face the thought of going home and explaining to Tifa or Cloud why she was upset – she was never any good at hiding her emotions and Tifa especially would demand to know who was responsible for hurting her – and make sure they received a good beating. There was no way she could let them know of this apparent rift between her and Leon, it wouldn't be fair for them to choose sides. How would they go on living together? All these thoughts overwhelmed Aerith's mind all at once, and she knew she had to be alone. Somewhere where no one could see her being over-emotional and where she could spend the evening alone so there was no chance of her bumping into any of her friends, or God forbid – Leon. As the thought crossed her mind again she felt herself begin to well up. She thought to herself that perhaps she was grieving too much – people fall out of friendship all the time, it's a part of life; people change. Perhaps Leon simply outgrew her company.

Or maybe he never really enjoyed it at all, and he'd finally had enough of his suffering?

Whilst analysing this, and many other theories, Aerith wrapped her arms around herself to shield her from the cold that was starting to creep as the evening drew closer, and as she stared out at the great maw from the edge of a sapphire cliff she was reminded how insignificant she was in this big wide world, and for a moment her problems didn't seem so bad.

_**Thank you for taking the time to read my story, I hope you enjoyed it! I'd really appreciate any thoughts, criticisms or what you'd like to be included in future chapters! Thank you 3**_


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